Re: About WiFi7

On 8/24/2024 12:20 PM, KevinJ93 wrote:

Many modern cars have cellular capability that is not exposed to the user and just used for telemetry etc.

It may, also, be exposed as "emergency services/roadside assistance" -- as in
the case of OnStar.

Often it is not used for software updates, that requires a wifi connection.

There is no technical reason why it can't be as phones accept OTA pushes
all the time.  And, the car can take DAYS (if need be) to acquire all
of the update before attempting to install any of it.
I think, instead, the reasoning is that an update could *break* the car.
So, you would want the car to be in a setting where it could be "restored"
without pissing off the user.  Likewise, where the update can be done in
a controlled manner (instead of relying on some procedure that was
remotely conceived).  Patching a running system is difficult and
requires the system to have been designed with that capability in mind,
from the start.
[When I was working on automotive control systems, only certain aspects
of the system could be "patched" without physically replacing hardware.
And, as these are distributed systems, the impact of one node changing while
others haven't, yet, can be unpredictable.]

I assume the car manufacturer has some form of limited data transfer agreement with the cellular carrier.

Possible.  I suspect something similar happens with remote KWHr meter reading
and active load management.

There is usually no monthly charge to the car owner for the basic serivce, it is covered by the manufacturer. If there are additional capability that also exploits the cellular link there may be a charge for that. For example on the Tesla there is a $10/month charge if you want audio streaming, real-time traffic information or improved map capabilities.

Some connected services are quite costly.  A fee for traffic updates.
Another for in-car wifi.  Another for roadside assistance.  Another for
preemptive/proactive maintenance, etc.
<https://www.onstar.com/pricing>
A simpler solution is just not to drive much!  :>